“You wouldn’t get it.”

From The Joker.

Living in Gotham City, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) has had more than his share of troubles in a filthy, hostile life.  Arthur struggles to work as a clown and also to care for his ailing mother (Frances Conroy) while fighting the demons in his brain that his medications can’t seem to touch.  First his boss fires him for bringing his coworker’s gun to work, Arthur finds little solace in the world except watching his favorite show, Live with Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro), each night and a friendly neighbor (Zazie Beetz).  When Arthur kills three rich attackers that jump him on the subway, it launches the city into a dangerous state of unrest as the police search for the killer in a clown mask and Gotham’s wealthy, including Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), call for justice for the murdered men.  As the world crumbles around him, Arthur tries to expand into the world of stand-up comedy but the world’s mocking reaction to his performance only pushes him deeper into his troubled mind.  Struggling to be the happy and accepted in such a dark world, Arthur makes discoveries about himself that push him to let go and finally be who he truly is.

This suspenseful antihero story is full of subtle thrills that it almost comes off as a dark comedy.  Phoenix is phenomenal is transforming into his character physically, mentally, and verbally, creating a world where it is difficult to tell reality from fantasy.  Viewers with a knowledge of the Batman and Joker storylines will enjoy seeing the new twists play out; however, the film is grounded in a realistic, never mentioning heroes or abilities, just presenting a world that is an absolute need of a savior.  It is darkly captivating to watch the main character’s decent into madness as he goes from shy Arthur to allowing the deranged Joker to go free.  While it is a slow burn, Joker is a movie that will leave viewers talking because it’s a comic book movie unlike any other.

| Rated: R | Running Time: 122 minutes |Genre: drama/thriller |

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 5* of 10|Nudity: 1 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 5 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|